Elizabeth Pickering – Interview

I’m not sure who it was that pointed me in the direction of Elizabeth’s music (sorry – my brain is like a sieve these days) but I’m glad they did as her jazzy indie-folk is bang on perfect for our gigs and I think she’ll be great at starting off the music this Sunday.

I thought I’d let my six year old Daughter Emmeline fire off a few questions as she was keen (and frankly comes up with better questions than me) so here’s Emmeline interviewing Elizabeth

What’s your favourite curry?It depends if I fancy spice or not! I like a sweet potato dhansak if I’m feeling a bit more coconutty or a jalfrezi/balti if I want something hotter. I’m not brave enough for a vindaloo yet!

Do you like chips?Chips are ace, especially with cheese, garlic mayo and American Chip Spice from ‘Ull!

What bands do you like?I like a lot of folk artists like Benjamin Francis Leftwich, 4Square and Laura Marling and indie alt rock bands like YONAKA, Chastity Belt and Swimming Girls. At the moment, I’m listening to loads of Sigrid, Hey Charlie and Snail Mail but my favourite band would have to be The Hubbards!

What song do you like best from your own songs?Right now, it’s a new one that I’m recording. It’s still without a name but it’s me having a conversation with myself as two different parts of me, saying that we should probably stick together and not have an inner civil war! I’m often in two minds about things and it’s nice to have a song that reminds me of having some unity.

What’s your favourite food?I reckon a tofu stir fry! Noodles, looooooads of veg and seasoning – it’s a staple and I always have the food in.

What’s your favourite film?Has been and always will be The Lion King. I still cry buckets every time and I even have the singalong version and probably the VHS still kicking around somewhere!

How did you learn to play guitar?My grandparents got me my first guitar when I was about eight without me knowing anything about how to play it. When I first started I just put my fingers on my feet and made chords up, then learned the basics from YouTube tutorials and chords posted online until I discovered the beauty of alternative tunings. I love different tunings if I’m stuck with writing as it feels like a whole new instrument and you can’t rely on falling back on what you know.

What books do you like?I’ve fallen out of reading a lot but used to be such a book worm when I was younger so I’ve recently decided to read more! I’m going to start with a book called Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami.

What was your favourite lesson at School? My favourite lesson was double science lessons! Hours of giggles, the teachers were ace and someone was always being sent out for mischief in the class – it’s one of my fondest memories of secondary school.